Vancouver 2010 Board of Directors meets, endorses ceremonies team for the Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies and nightly Victory Ceremonies

Sep 19, 2007

Whistler, BC – The Board of Directors for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) met today in Whistler, BC and reviewed and received updates on a series of key 2010 Winter Games topics. The meeting included a venue construction update, the Board’s approval of a $26.5 million draw from VANOC’s venue development budget central contingency, a tour of the Whistler Olympic and Paralympic venues and the Board’s authorizing of a number of contracts that will continue to support venue construction progress for the 2010 Winter Games. Notably, the Board also endorsed the overall Ceremonies leadership team for the Vancouver 2010 Opening and Closing Ceremonies and nightly Victory Ceremonies.

The Ceremonies leadership team, comprised of the Executive Producer, selected individuals and VANOC Ceremonies staff, will be announced at a news conference tomorrow. The announcement will include an introduction of the Ceremonies leadership team as well as an overview of the consultative process that will be undertaken to develop the Ceremonies.

Board Member Rusty Goepel was again elected by the Board Members to act as meeting Chair. VANOC Board Chairman Jack Poole continues to recover from surgery and participated in the meeting via Bell teleconferencing. Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed attended a portion of the meeting to welcome the VANOC Board of Directors to Whistler and provided an update on the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s planning for the 2010 Winter Games.

Reports, updates and decisions taken at the September 19, 2007 VANOC Board meeting included:

CEO Report

• International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission visit and International Sport Federation visit: The CEO Report began with a review of the 5th IOC Coordination Commission visit that took place at the VANOC campus from September 11-13. For the first time, the visit also included representation from all seven winter International Federations (IFs). The meetings were highly productive and successful, such that the IOC and VANOC subsequently agreed to cancel the next IOC meeting scheduled in Vancouver – a bi-annual IOC project review in December. The next IOC Coordination Commission is scheduled for February 2008, in Vancouver, and will include a visit by IOC President Jacques Rogge.

• Gerhard Heiberg visit: From September 24-26, VANOC will host Gerhard Heiberg, Chairman of the IOC’s Marketing Commission, former CEO of the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Games and previous Chair of the Vancouver 2010 Evaluation Commission. His visit will include a venue tour, meetings with partners and internal VANOC functions, and speaking engagements in Richmond and at VANOC.

• International Skating Union (ISU): VANOC has received confirmation that the ISU has accepted VANOC’s proposal to change its practice facility from the Agrodome to Killarney Arena. The ISU also approved VANOC’s Sport Event schedule which will include a world Single Distance Championships in long track speed skating, a World Cup in short track speed skating, and the Four Continents Cup of figure skating.

• Provincial and Territorial Partnerships: An update was provided on the additional four provincial memoranda of understanding reached with Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Discussions are underway with the remaining provinces.

• Venue Construction Update: This is the peak period for venue construction with crews fully mobilized on all competition venues. The project remains on track for final completion of the program, in its entirety, in late 2008. Good progress is being made across all venues and the targets for this year will be met.
  
  Highlights of the recent achievements to date are:

  • The Whistler Sliding Centre reached a major milestone in September with the on- schedule completion of the concreting of the entire track

  • Fabrication and erection of the ski jump structures at the Whistler Nordic Venue have been completed ahead of schedule

  • The new refrigeration system at the Pacific Coliseum was successfully tested

  • The roof of the main arena at the UBC Winter Sports Centre has been erected

  • Excavation for the skier underpass, on the ladies’ downhill course at Whistler Creekside, is complete and erection of the underpass structure is well advanced

  • The finish area works at Whistler Creekside are complete and Boyd Creek has been diverted to support the tailed frog habitat

• With the exception of the Whistler Athletes’ Centre and a number of minor trade contracts at Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park (home to curling and wheelchair curling), procurement activities are nearing completion. Additional venue information is included in the Finance Committee update below.

• Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village: The City of Vancouver’s waterfront hard and soft landscaping works commenced in late May and are progressing well. Footing and foundation preparation has commenced in parcels two and nine, with all parcels expected to be ‘at grade’ by the end of fall.

• Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village: Good progress is being made on site with utilities installation and road building. The Whistler Development Corporation (WDC) has submitted and received conditional approval for three Development Permit applications and foundation work will commence in the fall. The WDC has also appropriately prepared sites for the Whistler Athletes’ Centre (WAC) construction start, which is expected to commence in September. The municipal waste transfer station has now been fully relocated from the site and final landfill closure works have been begun with completion scheduled for this year.

• Accommodation Update: The Accommodation team reviewed discussions that took place with the IOC’s Coordination Commission last week and indicated that the VANOC team has secured approximately 93 per cent of the inventory to meet core client requirements for the Games, in both Vancouver and Whistler. Interest in attending the 2010 Winter Games is high and the Accommodation team will continue to work towards exceeding its overall inventory targets.

• Mascot and Torch Relays Update: An update was provided on the mascot development process and Torch Relay planning.

• Volunteer Program Update: Workforce is working with major stakeholders, both internally and externally, to determine volunteer needs for both the pre-Games and Games-time periods leading up to the “Call for Volunteers” in February 2008.
  
  Historically, 59 per cent of volunteers are from the Host City, with 30 per cent are from the provincial area, 10 per cent are from across the country, and the remaining 1 per cent are from the rest of the world. There is a need for 25,000 volunteers and 15,000 participants (ceremonies) for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. There is also a requirement for a number of skilled volunteer positions, particularly in the sport and medical fields.

Strategic Communications Steering Committee

In addition to the Ceremonies leadership team announcement, Torch Relay and mascot planning, the Strategic Communications Steering Committee provided a look ahead to a busy fall and outlined the proactive communications strategies being developed to support the activities and announcements. The Committee also provided an update on progress to date on VANOC’s new advertising and media buying agencies and the creative strategies under development.

Report of the Finance Committee

A report of the Finance Committee meeting, held on September 10, 2007, included recommendations that required approvals today from the VANOC Board, as outlined below. The Finance Committee report also included updates on previously approved contracts not requiring Board approval. Contract awards are posted on vancouver2010.com following their completion.

The Finance Committee also provided resolutions for Board approval of VANOC’s ticket pricing strategy and ticket service provider contract award. Approval was granted on both items. Management will move forward to award the contract and will continue with its plans to announce the successful ticket service provider and ticket program in the fall. The Committee also reported on VANOC’s Out of Home Media Program sales strategy.

Finance Committee recommendations:

Venue construction

• The Board approved a recommendation by the Finance Committee to transfer funds from VANOC’s central capital budget contingency to cover increased cost pressures at four competition venues.

• The central capital budget contingency is contained within the overall $580 million construction budget. Including the contingency draw, VANOC’s venue development program remains on target for completion within the $580 million budget.

Approved draws from VANOC’s central capital budget contingency:

• Allocation of $850,000 to Cypress Mountain

• Allocation of $25 million to the Whistler Athletes’ Centre

• Allocation of $500,000 to BC Place Stadium

• Allocation of $150,000 to the Richmond Oval

Total draw from the capital budget central contingency: $26.5 million

• With the approved $26.5 million contingency draw, the capital budget central contingency has been drawn down from its previous level of $53.5 million to $26.8 million. Recent assessments have concluded that the contingency program remains in a healthy condition and at an appropriate level given the stage of contracting and venue construction. The remaining venue contingency also continues to be at an amount larger than required within VANOC’s commitments to the Province of British Columbia.

• VANOC will formally report on the contingency draw as part of its Annual Report scheduled for release on October 17, 2007.

Background:

The Vancouver 2010 Board of Directors is made up of 20 members nominated by: the Canadian Olympic Committee (seven); the Government of Canada (three); the Province of British Columbia (three); the City of Vancouver (two); the Resort Municipality of Whistler (two); the Canadian Paralympic Committee (one); a joint appointment by the Band Councils of the Lil'wat and Squamish Nations (one); and one member nominated by the other 19 members.

The Board is scheduled to meet six times per year, and more often at the call of the Chair as required. The meetings are generally held at the Vancouver 2010 offices in Vancouver, although they are occasionally hosted by our Games partners in other locations. The Board’s responsibility is to oversee the conduct of the business of VANOC as it works toward achieving its Mission, to touch the soul of the nation and inspire the world by creating and delivering an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience with lasting legacies.

As part of its commitment to public transparency and accountability, the Vancouver 2010 Board of Directors has made today’s agenda, discussion topics and decisions available to the public on vancouver2010.com, subject to conditions of confidentiality related to personal information and/or competitively sensitive or privileged information. VANOC is also committed to hosting media briefings following each Board meeting with the Board Chairman, the CEO and other director(s) or members of the VANOC senior management team to elaborate further on matters.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the VANOC Board of Directors is scheduled for November 21, 2007.

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

Contact

VANOC Communications
mediarelations@vancouver2010.com